Nick bowed and kissed Mr. Big's ring. The shrew sighed and looked Nick up and down.
"My condolences for Judy. She was a credit to our city."
Nick took a polite step back, "She is still alive but lost her husband."
Mr. Big's eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise, "Ah! A ray of hope in such dark times. I shall send Bruno with flowers for her soon."
"Thank you sir, but I come with more than news. I ask for your assistance in bringing justice."
Mr. Big looked Nick up and down, "You seek revenge not justice, that's good I like revenge. But what can I provide that your fellow officers cannot."
"But that is exactly why I need your help. This rabbit Maroni intends to establish a new family in the city. He will be watching the ZPD every move, you and I both know they'll never catch him."
"Hmm… A new family would only bring war. War between families and with the police." Mr. Big rubbed his chin, "War is expensive Nick but taking out a new family would be seen as another declaration of war. The Maroni Family has power outside of the city."
"This will be ZPD raid from our own investigation not the Big Family, Sir." Nick assured the old shrew, "I just need to be the first one to find him."
"Very well but there must be no connection to the Family at all. Your recent assistance has allowed me to forgive you, but I will not protect you over the Family."
"I understand sir." Nick answered earnestly, "As always it is a pleasure to speak with such an upstanding citizen."
Mr. Big chuckled as Nick kissed his ring before leaving, "Call Koslov, have him spread the word but only to our closet members this must stay quiet."
Boris nodded and left, when Mr. Big said to keep something quiet it stayed quiet.
Nick's mother was ready and waiting with the kits when he pulled up.
"Mom I was supposed to come up and help you with the kits." Nick said hugging her.
"I know but you have enough on your plate right now." She answered buckling in the kits, "I like children helping children Nick."
Nick bit his tongue realizing that this was her was of supporting Judy, "I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that I just didn't want to put too much on you."
She smiled at him, "Its ok Nick I know what you were trying to say. I just wanted to help."
"Thanks mom you've been more help than you know."
Bonnie and Stu were waiting by Judy's bedside. Judy was sleeping soundly.
"Oh Nick you brought the Kits!" Bonnie rushed to see her grandbunnies sleeping soundly like their mother.
"She wanted to see them." Nick said nodding to Judy.
"Hello I'm Mrs. Wild." She said holding out her paw, "You must be Judy's parents. I've heard so much about you."
Stu shook her paw without hesitation, "Stu Hopps this is my wife Bonnie."
"Nice to meet you." Bonnie said shaking her paw also.
"I'm sorry to be meeting you like this, I was hoping that our first meeting would be around the dinner table with a blueberry pie."
Bonnie and Stu exchanged a confused glance.
"Judy, Jack, and I had been planning on surprising you with a joint thanksgiving dinner this year." Nick explained rubbing his neck, "We thought it would have been a fun idea and my apartment has a bigger dining room than their place."
"Oh that would have been lovely I'm sure." Bonnie answered uncertainly.
"We're still going to do it once Judy is well again." Nick assured them, "My treat."
"How is she doing?" Nick's mother asked.
"She can't move anything from the waist down. There is a lot of damage from the bullet but she stopped bleeding." Stu explained holding Bonnies paw.
Bonnie and Stu sat with Nicks mother playing with Judy's children. Nick spoke with a passing Nurse about her condition and the officer on guard duty about any new leads on the investigation. He bought everyone terrible hospital coffee, paced around the room and gave the officer at her door a short break. Nick could not sit still he didn't know what he needed to do but he needed to do something whether it was hold Judy close or beat a suspect's face in he wasn't certain. He would have been grateful to have done either rather than wait for her to wake up again.
Judy finally stirred after a little over an hour. Nick fought the urge to crowd her with her parents.
"Did I fall asleep?" She asked surprised.
"You have been out for almost two hours." Stu told her.
"Not that it's a bad thing you need your rest." Bonnie assured her.
Judy's ears twitched, "My babies?"
"We brought them to see you as promised." Nick told her holding up June.
Judy reached out for June, Nick handed her over gingerly. She held her child close but winced in pain. Nick mistakenly tried t take her back but was stopped dead by Judy's sharp glare. He pulled his paws back quickly.
"Don't overdo it." Nick cautioned.
Judy shot him the same withering stare, "I can hold my daughter Nick."
"I just meant that you have two other girls to hold." Nick covered.
"I'm sorry Nick." Judy winced and held June out to him. He quickly took the kit in his arms.
She held April and May in turn, but only briefly. Her face was pale and drained but she smiled happily.
"Thank you Nick for keeping my girls safe."
"You're the one who saved them." Nick said brushing her cheek. She pressed her face into his paw. Judy fell asleep with Nick still caressing her cheek.
Nick's mother spoke quietly, "We should let her rest."
"I don't want to leave her here alone." Stu said holding her paw.
"She's had a long day." Bonnie answered but was also unwilling to leave.
"So have you," Nick said gently, "we should take the girls home before they run out of diapers."
"I already made up the guest bed." Nicks mother said.
Bonnie and Stu kissed Judy on the cheek and followed Nick's mother out to the car. Nick kissed Judy when no one else was looking before catching up to the others.
Nick opened the apartment for the tired group. The day had proven itself more arduous than they had realized. Bonnie and Stu tiredly fed and changed the kits before turning in themselves. Nick sat at the table with his mother and sipped a small glass of whisky.
His mother eyed him harshly, "I think you've had enough."
Nick set the glass down embraced, his mother picked up the glass and took a deep swallow. Nick's mouth hung open in surprise. His mother set the glass down and smiled.
"I didn't know you drank." Nick said in surprise.
"Only on special occasions. The last time I had a drink was at your fathers wake when you were just a child yourself." She lifted the glass high in the air, "To you Robert. Thank you for watching over us all these years and for keeping us close. I hope you still have some favors you can ask for miss Hopps because we need her still."
She took another sip of the glass and handed it back to Nick who raised it up himself, "I barely knew you Dad but I know you always cared. Thank you for being there for Mom."
He took a small sip again before handing it back to his mother, "Dear Jack we will miss you. We only knew you for a short time but you were a good man when we knew you."
She drank and gave it back to Nick, "To Jack, I still don't know how you managed to marry Judy and still become my friend but you managed a hustle I never would have thought possible."
Nick drank another small sip there was barely anything left, his mother took the glass and held it high for a third time, "For Judy who is still with us." She set the glass down and dropped a lit match into the whiskey. "May heaven know that we have enough dead to mourn and spare her life this day." The whiskey burned away to nothing in seconds with how little was left.
She seemed satisfied with their actions and stood to leave, "Thank you Nick. It feels good to show proper respect."
"Are you going to be ok getting home?" Nick asked.
"I'll be fine dear," She told him gently, "I've been taking the same bus for years."
She gave Nick a kiss, "You had such soft eyes as a child, not hard like the rest of the world. Bring back those soft eyes for me son."
"I'll try Mother." Nick promised.
She left smiling but Nick felt ashamed he would do his best for his mother but after he finished with Maroni.